But at what Cost?

I've been thinking a lot about Gen Z. Specifically the kids that graduated high school in 2020 and 2021. They lost their junior and senior years to COVID. Had to homeschool missing out on all of that end of high school stuff. Homecomings and proms and year book signings and graduation ceremonies. The things that mark the end of one era and the start of another.

And now they are graduating college and there are no jobs. At least in the US. The job market just collapsed around them. Even in the fields where we all pushed them to go for that promise of job security. Now instead of actual coding we have vibe coding. Use AI and sort of see where it goes. Instead of hiring people we are firing them. They are again being slammed into a state of limbo.

We are looking at another generation that doesn't have a shot of doing better than their parents. At least the millenials have some inheritance coming their way when the boomers and older Gen Xers die off. Gen Z? Good luck with that. Not sure there will be anything left to inherit.

I grew up really poor. I've got a real back of my head constant paranoia about spending money. Like any large sum makes my palms sweat. Even knowing we can afford a vacation I tend to have Brent actually buy the plane tickets or make the hotel reservations. It's really hard for me to push the "buy" button. Even knowing how much we have budgeted for the trip. Even knowing we are okay. It just makes me uncomfortable. So I leave the room, Brent buys it and I pretend it wasn't that expensive.

Little did I know I was going to need to do that at the grocery store. Brent is still staying home recovering from COVID. Hopefully he'll test negative tonight and tomorrow and be able to go back in to work. He is feeling a lot better. Getting that Paxlovid on Tuesday helped SO MUCH. But anyway...I've been running all of the errands solo. Masked up, because I'm not a monster.

Today was groceries. Three full bags. One bag with a handful of items. One thing of Tide. THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. The clerk and I exchanged a look of "WHAT??" when she gave me the total. Now, Brent and I are at a place where I can be upset about it. I can be flabbergasted at it. But I can pay it.

Early in our marriage that would have been out of the question. Even adjusting for inflation. Back then I ran a total in my head of what it was going to be and if I got off and the amount was higher I was the person taking things off the conveyor belt to get to what I could afford.

When I got home and shouted the total at him, we started talking about retirement and how we would need to go back to really watching costs. Like today sucked, but it will be absorbed and paid for. If we were on a fixed income it wouldn't be. Or at least not as easily. It will be back to searching the grocery store ads, shopping at multiple stops, stocking up when things are on a big sale. We used to go to Sam's club and buy bags of frozen items and portion them out. We had the same four meals on repeat because they were affordable. I don't think it will get to that again, but at least we have practice.

Gen Z is going to be that generation. The store ramen is cheaper than the name brand ramen so we get that generation. The meat is a luxury item but so are fresh vegetables. Both of those can be directly related to Trump policies by the way. There isn't an item in the grocery store right now that isn't being affected by them. We are so screwed as this is just the start.

The job market is going to continue to collapse. There are plenty of articles out there talking about how this is the tech bro plan. Get the general population desperate so they have a labor pool they can exploit. Or you know, the Amazon warehouse model.

The Trump family is making billions of dollars and could honestly not give a shit about any of us. Just get daddy on TV and let him pretend to be a big bad man and fuck all the rest of you.

It's terrifying.

Gen Z never got a chance.

The rest of us are watching our own chance disappear.

Long live the revolution.